Goodreads: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey

Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Second review:
It's four years from the first time I read this book and I realize that if you're going to read a Chuck P. book, you really need to read it, absorb it, experience it. I was only into it with half my attention the first time and missed a lot, including some key plot points.

This time, it took me awhile to finish it because I'm only reading intermittently these days, but I made a point to focus when I did read it. This time around, it gets 5 stars all the way.

Buster Casey, aka, Rant is an exceptional but dangerous boy growing up in a small town with his mother, a woman who puts sharp metal objects in her food to make people eat slowly and enjoy it, and his father, who cryptically insinuates that he's not actually Rant's father and seems to know more about Rant's future than seems possible.

Rant also shows some strange abilities, like the power to tell what someone had for dinner two nights prior simply by smelling them (okay, it's a little more graphic than that, but you'll have to read the book to find that out). He also shows an affinity for being bit by poisonous and rabid animals.

When Rant moves to the city, what starts out as a story about a quaint small town and its black sheep turns into something completely different: a tale that takes place in an alternate universe where society is split into those who live during the day and those who live at night and people boost sensory experiences through ports in the back of their neck.

In the city, Rant meets up with a crew of "Party Crashers." Party Crashing is the favorite pasttime of Nighttimers and involves decorating cars and playing a large organized game of road tag with other teams. It's these fellow crashers, childhood friends and neighbors, family, and the people Rant has come in contact with or made an impression on that all tell his story in oral biography format.

It's hard to read this story as a coherent beginning to end novel because it's not. It's more like a documentary in which several anecdotes come together to tell a story and eventually end in an unforeseen climax. The characters speak in different voices, yet all voices are definitely Palahniuk's and characteristic of the voice used in his other novels. The pacing is quick, the factoids are fun, and the ending doesn't disappoint.

Reading this book again kicks off one of my Day Zero things to do, and that's to read all of this author's books again. I recommend this to anyone looking for something they can sink their mind into.

First review:
It actually took me a little while to get into this book. I'm a fan of Palahniuk but this one seemed a little slow to me. Told not by the main character but by those who knew him before his death, this truly is an "oral biography." The point of view constantly switches but once you get the hang of it, it's a fun way to read.

Like many of his books, this one takes bizarre to a whole new level. It's hard to really talk about anything that happens for fear of giving something away. To sum up, Rant lives in a world where rabies runs rampant, the new high is an experience "boost" through ports in the back of people's necks, and the big recreation game is Party Crashing, which involves complex tag games with cars.

Once I got into it, I couldn't put this book down. The premise is great, the writing is great, and the end...like all of his books I've read so far...is mind blowing.



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Goodreads: The DUFF

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


1. I read this book a few weeks ago and just didn't get around to writing a review of it. Then I read some other reviews, and while I don't usually let other people's opinions sway me, I felt like I needed to rethink my original opinion. In the end, I decided to stick with my original one and love the hell out of this book.

2. I realize there are some issues with this book. Some of it's a matter of reality. Some of it's a matter of "What the heck is the main character doing?" I'm going to talk about it in this review, but I've decided not to analyze it too much and take it for what it was...a fun book.

Minor spoilers ahead.

Bianca Piper knows she doesn't look as good as her two carefree best friends, but her snarky wit keeps her from focusing on her self consciousness. Until Wesley Rush, local rich boy and high school jerk, brings to her attention that she's the DUFF - the Designated Ugly Fat Friend that guys will attempt to befriend in order to get with their much hotter friends.

Not only does this weigh on Bianca's mind and self-esteem, but she's also dealing with an absent mother, a pending parental divorce, and an alcoholic father. So when Wesley turns out to be a distraction, Bianca starts an affair with him to run away from her problems. In the process, she learns that she's not the only one with problems and that she's not the only one who's ever felt like the DUFF.

I love Bianca's sense of snark and humor and I related to many of the things she went through. Not that I got my groove on with someone I hated in high school or otherwise, but I do know it's easy to do things you might not do otherwise just to forget the things that life is throwing at you.

I can see where the whole Bianca/Wesley thing would irritate some people...who jumps the very person they hate? You'd be surprised what stress can do to you, and while I would normally say to stay away from those types of elements, I think in this case, it added to the development of the characters.

I thought this book was well written and cute, and the author's voice resonated with me. I'm hoping to read more by them and I do recommend DUFF if you can suspend a little bit of reality and just enjoy the story for what it is.



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Goodreads: Grundish and Askew

NOTE: I was asked by the author of this book to do a review and was happy to do it. It always makes me feel more important than I really am when I get these sort of opportunities. I say it all in the review below, but this book was AWESOME! If you want to check it out for yourself, go buy it here on Amazon. I can't wait to read more by this author!


Grundish and Askew by Lance Carbuncle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If George and Lenny lived in a trailer park, drank beer, had few ambitions and a violent streak, they’d be Grundish and Askew. This is the second book by the good Dr. Reverend Lance Carbuncle, but the first one I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I’m looking forward to satiating myself on more raunchy, cult inspiring awesomeness.



Grundish and Askew are soul mates and hetero life partners who haven’t been dealt the best hand but are determined to make the most of what they have. Askew is determined to break the generational cycle of prison bound men in his family while Grundish, after serving his time, just wants to stay out of jail. But when a frozen hot dog prank in their trailer park goes awry, the two men have to flee, taking their one-lunged senior citizen aunt with them.



The characters in “Grundish and Askew” are great. The two main characters are raw and disgusting, yet I found myself rooting for them. Turleen, the one-lunged aunt, is well developed as a secondary character and one of my favorites, especially during her interactions with two dogs that show up in her hallucinatory dreams. Minor characters add spice and plot and Carbuncle weaves them into the story with either great skill or lots of luck (I’m going to say the former).



“Grundish and Askew” isn’t for the faint of heart or virgin-minded. There’s sex, violence, gore, bodily functions and some disturbing scenery along the way. But it’s a fun, wild ride that’s well written and one I highly recommend.





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Goodreads: A Kiss in Time

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the second book by Alex Flinn that I've read, the first being "Beastly," which I wanted to read before I saw the movie (I still haven't seen the movie, but I liked the book).

In this remake of "Sleeping Beauty," Flinn's heroine, Princess Talia of Euphrasia, is an unhappy teenager who's been sheltered her whole life in an effort to keep her away from the dreaded spindle that will cause her and her kingdom to fall into a deep sleep. On her 16th birthday, in her quest for the perfect dress, she comes upon an old lady who...you guessed it...tricks her into touching a spindle.

Three hundred years later, while playing hooky from his European tour group, Jack finds the princess and kisses her awake. Jack is a teenage slacker who's parents have planned much of his life for him, so it's a shock to his system when he's thrown into the king's dungeon. Talia rescues him under the condition that he take her with him back to Florida.

The story is simple and sweet, and the retelling was well done. Talia and Jack both grow and develop as do most of the side characters, like Jack's parents and sister. One thing I particularly like about this book is that Flinn doesn't make her characters fall in love and spend eternity by each other's side. While this is acceptable (if somewhat unrealistic) in historical adult romance, I often find it annoying when the characters are only teenagers. Flinn avoids that trap while still allowing for the romantic element in the story.

A good book and a definite recommendation.



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Goodreads: Nightlight, A Parody

Nightlight: A Parody by Harvard Lampoon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I like a good parody, but the key word there is "good." Many movie parodies are just dumb, and it's rare that I find a book parody to read, much less one that I enjoy.



However, the "Twilight" series seems to have opened itself up to several parody novels, including this one. In "Nightlight," Belle Goose is in love with Edwart Mullen, a strange boy who she believes is a vampire and will turn her into one as well. Belle knows she's popular, knows that no one actually notices when she falls over everything, and rubs herself in grapefruit juice because she knows that the scent makes her blood smell good to vampires.



The book was silly and entertaining, but that's coming from a person who is not a "Twilight" fan. Fans may not appreciate the blatant teasing of the original characters. I can picture people reading the book and thinking that the descriptions and metaphors are horrible, and that the writing is really bad. I can also imagine that some people aren't going to get the point that bad writing was the point of this book. It's meant to poke fun at the originals, which are...in fact...badly written.



If you're not a "Twilight fan" or a "Twilight" fan with a good sense of humor, I recommend this book as a fun, quick read. If, however, you love Bella and Edward and think "Twilight is the best thing since sliced bread, chances are, you're not going to appreciate this book.



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Goodreads: Feed

Feed by Mira Grant

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm a little late to the zombie bandwagon, and to tell the truth, I'm still not fully in fan with. I like the random zombie movie and book, and if there's a "Tweet like it's the Zombie Apocalypse Day" on Twitter, I'll join in. But unlike my husband, I am not a zombie enthusiast and have never appreciated them as anything that could be multi-faceted.

"Feed" takes the concept to a different level. This isn't your standard story about zombies walking around eating people's brains. In the post-Rising world that Shaun and Georgia Mason live in, George Romero is hailed as a survivalist hero and bloggers are celebrities of the media world. When the Mason's blogging team is chosen to follow a presidential hopeful on the road, they're thrilled at the opportunity of a lifetime.

Things on the road get dangerous, however, when someone starts targeting the candidate's family and the blogging team for assassination, using the same virus that has spread over the world and turned so many people into zombies. The blog team finds their ratings going higher while their assignment tests their ultimate survival skills.

This book is not a simple story. The future setting is a detailed one that the author developed well. The idea of blogging becoming a main source of news isn't far fetched as even now, blogs play an important roll in how information is distributed. Even the Kellis-Amberlee virus is believable, and so this book goes from being a fun zombie read to an account that makes the reader go, "Wow, I can see how this would happen."

I don't like to give spoilers, but I will say that this book brought out all kinds of emotions in me. I definitely recommend it as a good read, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Newsflesh series.



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Goodreads: Midnight Pearls - A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid"

Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid" by Debbie Viguié

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


My last review was on another book in the "Once Upon A Time" series, and while that one tried to take the realistic retelling approach, this one stuck with the fantastical aspect of the classic fairy tale while the author gave it her own little spin.

Pearl is rescued from the sea when she's only four years old, but growing up, both she and her parents realize she's a little strange. The only person who seems to accept her outside of her family is James, her best friend who she meets in secret once a week due to the fact that he's the prince...and the prince isn't supposed to mix with commoners. When James is told by his father that he must wed, he approaches Pearl, but before he can propose, their boat capsizes and everything changes.

From the sea come two mermaids: Kale, who recognized Pearl as the sea princess Adriana, and his sister Faye, who falls in love with the prince and saves him from drowning. The mer siblings make a deal with the sea witch to become human, both for different reasons, but both paying a price with the ultimate loss being death. As they try to earn the love of the ones they've fallen in love with, they are caught in a treacherous plot of those wanting to take over the throne.

This was another quick read and it wasn't bad. The writing was good, and the story had a definite air of "fairy tale" about it. While it was a retelling, it stuck pretty close to the original with a few new characters thrown in. I like retellings to be a bit more subtle, but it did what it was meant to do. I don't think it's one I'll ever read again, and it got a bit boring towards the end, but I don't consider the time I spent reading it to be a waste of time.



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Goodreads: Furies of Calderon

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Having read Butcher's Dresden File novels, I decided to give his Codex Alera series a try. My husband is reading them for the second time, and even though I tend to be intimidated by fantasy novels, I gave it a shot.

I loved this first book of the series. It has action that I can follow, romance that isn't over the top, cool magics, likable and unlikable characters. Even the bad guys are sometimes likable, because Butcher rarely makes his characters all dark or all light. And he does it well. In his fashion, there's also a good dose of humor and then some tragedy.

This book seemed a bit more intense than the earlier Dresden Books (I have to catch up on the later ones) and more graphic. I'm not complaining. I like intense and graphic anyway, and in this case, it just enhanced the reading experience.





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Goodreads: Shades of Green

Shades of Green by Ian Woodhead

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"Shades of Green" is a horror novel that gave me bits and pieces of Lovecraft nostalgia while drawing me in and giving me a real story I could sink my teeth in. I'm not comparing Woodhead to Lovecraft, however, because Woodhead has carved himself a definite niche in the horror genre that's a little unlike anyone else out there.

From the first scene, the story takes on a detached, dreamlike quality. Brothers Alan and Damien stumble across strange happenings in the forest, only to wake up to the possibility that it might have been a dream. Damien's girlfriend Jennifer is seeing signs of a strange transformation in her brother Tony. Some of the older citizens of the town of Holburn are visited by their past sins, and the town becomes infested with a sinister plant invasion that turns people into hideous creatures. It's up to Jennifer and Damien to figure out what's going on and to survive with the help of Alan, the obsessive compulsive brother who gains the ability to invade their minds and see and feel through them. Does he hold the secret to the plant infestation?

No spoilers here, as I think my fellow horror fans should give this one a read. Ian Woodhead takes several mysterious scenes and weaves them together to tell a full story. Don't let any initial confusion deter you from finishing. The journey is worth it. The horror scenes are great, relying on disturbing imagery rather than outright gore to entertain, and there's definitely a "can't put it down" factor to the book.

The only criticism I can give is that some of the punctuation and grammar seemed to be a little off, though I realized in some places this was a matter of dialect and regional writing that I wasn't used to. The issues didn't take away from the enjoyability of the story. This one is recommended and I definitely want to read more by this author.






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Goodreads: The Rocky Road to Romance

The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


One of my favorite series is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Because I like her style of writing, I gave this one a try. The style remains the same, and there are some really funny moments and characters.

Daisy Adams has managed to fill her days completely with school, work, and volunteering. In order to make ends meet, she takes on the job as traffic reporter at the radio station where she works, even though she has no idea what to do. She becomes involved with the owner of the station, Steve Crow, in the process. When she accidentally takes down a local drug dealer, Daisy starts receiving threats.

I liked that this book was light and fluffy and didn't really take alot of brain power to get through. I'm not really in a reading place right now, but it's nice to lay down and read a few pages before bed. What I didn't like is that the plot moved too quickly and everything was packaged fairly neatly. There wasn't really any characters not to like, and while this is okay, I do like to have a protagonist every now and again.

I probably won't read this book again, but for it was a good read for a one time round of pre-sleepy time relaxation.

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Goodreads Review: Snuff

Snuff by Adam Huber


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have to give this book a five star rating because the thought process that had to go into creating such a disturbing work of fiction truly is amazing. I've read and written some violent things before, but the things in this book are horrifically detailed and demented. In other words, this definitely pushed some limits with my psyche, and that's not easy to do.

Jack and Mikey make movies for high paying clients, the kind of movies that cost tens of thousands of dollars and don't end with the main star still alive. These custom made snuff films are the product of a twisted mind with an abusive childhood and a sexual deviant, both who become wrapped up in a sort of addiction to murder, rape, and torture. When they make a movie for a client and end up using his daughter in the starring role, the story takes a vengeful and surprising turn.

From the beginning scene, I wondered how far the authors would push this and they didn't disappoint. The images are graphic. I remember when the movie "Hostel" was released and people thought it was graphic, violent, and disturbing. If "Snuff" were made into a movie and done word for word exactly as the book reads with no censorship, it would make "Hostel" look like an episode of "Sesame Street."

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Goodreads: Level 26: Dark Origins

Level 26: Dark Origins by Anthony E. Zuiker


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
If you’re looking for a great work of literature with phenomenal writing, this isn’t the book to read. But the concept of a digi-novel is interesting and the experience is okay if you like books and crime drama TV.

The premise is pretty basic. Sqweegel is classified as a Level 26 killer. He’s a twisted serial killer who has been uncatchable for years. Now he’s targeted the wife of former agent Steve Dark, who is basically forced out of retirement to try to find Sqweegel.

That’s the story in a nutshell. The concept was good, but there were a lot of things wrong with the book. There were several continuity and spelling errors, and the overall writing wasn’t great. It read like a made-for-TV CSI like movie with some added gore and swearing for effect. The characters were bland, and some of the acting in the cyber bridges was worthy of a Razzy.

Having said that, I don’t think the book tried to be anything great. I think the authors took a concept and went with it, drawing from their background in the crime drama tv genre. Sure, there could have been improvements, but for what it was, I actually enjoyed it. There were some disturbing scenes and Sqweegel made for a nifty bad guy. Not sure if I thought he was worthy of a Level 26 rating, but it was probably good for the book. I even enjoyed the cyber-bridges, though a few of them were a little long and tedious.

This isn’t anything I’ll read again, but I’ll likely read the second one that comes out next year.

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Goodreads: The Hour I First Believed

The Hour I First Believed: A Novel by Wally Lamb


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This will go on my All Consuming list as "Worth Consuming," because the first part of the book really was worth it. In fact, if the whole book had maintained what it had through the first part, it would have been a five star rating for sure.

Caelum Quirk is at his aunt's deathbed when he hears news of a shooting at the high school where he teaches and where his wife, Maureen, is a part time school nurse. Lamb pulls the non-fiction of Columbine (using the factual events, names, and evidence) for his story, and the effect was amazing. It was hard to put this book down and it drew alot of emotions as I read it. Maureen hides herself in a cabinet and survives, only to suffer debilitating post-traumatic stress. The Quirks move back to the farm where Caelum grew up in an effort to help Maureen get her life together and to work on their marriage.

After the great beginning, the book began to lose stars with me. It veers into several different storylines, and while Caelum and Maureen's marriage is always at the core, the off shoots get tedious. A troubled girl from Columbine comes back into their life. Maureen ends up in jail for vehicular manslaughter, an effect of her prescription drug habit. Caelum drinks heavily, mimicking aspects of his father's life, an alcoholic killed in a train accident. He ends up renting his house to a couple who survived Hurricane Katrina, and the wife of the couple starts research into Caelum's family history, much of which Lamb gives with excruciating detail that bored me. My mind frequently wandered during these sections and while I couldn't put the book down at the beginning, I couldn't wait to finish it by the end.

Still, there's alot to be said for Lamb's writing. I remember enjoying his first two books and plan on re-reading them since it's been several years since the first visit. Besides being a talented writer, he doesn't shadow things in happily ever after. His stories are reality checks: major issues that aren't solved in the course of a couple chapters and sometimes not even in the course of the novel. None of his main characters are truly likeable. Caelum is unfeeling, selfish, and judgemental. Maureen is unfaithful coming into the story, weak, and annoying. But somehow, these traits are justified, not to the point where we can like them, but to the point where we can at least understand them.

Readers who enjoy a touch of history may like this book as a whole better than I did. Still, the beginning of it was one of the most powerful things I read and it still maintained a three star rating, even if I did have to slog through the last few hundred pages.




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Goodreads: No Choice But Seduction

No Choice But Seduction: A Mallory Novel #9 by Johanna Lindsey


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Mallory series ranks up there as one of my faves, but I have to admit that this one didn't really do it for me (furthermore, I barely remember the last one, which is a sure sign I need to go back and read the whole series again).

Boyd Anderson first meets Katey Tyler on his ship as he takes her to England where she's hoping to see more of the world and reconnect with the family who disowned her mother many years ago. Katey has a talent for telling tales, and so she tells him she's married to stave off any attentions. But the two meet later when Boyd assists in rescuing the daughter of Tony and Roslynn who's been kidnapped by Roslynn's cousin's wife for ransom. Katey, however, is the one who rescues the little girl, only to be repaid with suspicion from Boyd.

Eventually, Katey finds her way to the Mallory family where they welcome her with open arms but, upon seeing Boyd (and still being pissy with him) she takes off. When her "real" family turns her away at the door, she allows Boyd to make it up to her by letting her rent his ship to take her to see other parts of the world, and while he obliges her, he seems to have that problem that so many historical heroes have: he can barely keep control of the lust she incites in him.

Normally, I'm totally cool with all the historical cliches, and they weren't too bothersome in this book either. Lindsey always adds a nice helping of fun and humor to her writing. But this one seemed to be majorly lacking in relationship development between Boyd and Katey, focusing instead on Katey's past and her connection to the Mallorys. It read more like a coming of age book than a romance novel.

The scenes with James and Anthony were great, though, especially when they're trying to teach Boyd to be seductive. Definitely good stuff there. And while I didn't like this one as much as some of her other books, it still wasn't a bad way to get through a couple of lazy days.

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Goodreads: Hot Pursuit

Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockmann


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finishing this book was kind of a milestone because it signifies the fact that I've caught up with the Troubleshooters series. The exception to this is I haven't yet read “Into the Night,” because the local library doesn't carry it and I don't normally buy books when I'm just going to read and pass on (though I should probably suck it up and buy this one since I could definitely read this series again). I'm currently waiting to receive the book on interlibrary loan, but it'll be more like a nostalgia trip.

“Hot Pursuit” brings us back to Sam and Alyssa and continues the story told in one of Brockmann' short stories. “The Dentist” is a psychopath whose target is Alyssa Locke. When Alyssa, Sam, and some of Seal Team 16 go to New York, they think it's going to be nothing more than a fluff job to help a political hopeful stay safe during her campaign. But The Dentist is lurking, setting up a chain of events to get Alyssa where he wants her, including murder and his own special MO of collecting the teeth of his victims.

Sam and Alyssa are a fun couple to re-visit, but I probably wouldn't have been as interested if I hadn't had faith that Brockmann would have introduced another new love story, this time between Danny Gillman and the political hopeful's friend and assistant, Jenn. I may have mentioned before that I didn't like Danny, but as expected, he sort of kind of redeems himself in this one, at least to reveal a human side (though Brockmann keeps true to many of his less savory tendencies to keep continuity). Other relationships are touched on, including the Izzy and Eden story from Izzy's point of view, and of course we get a little bit of Robin and Jules. A lot of “cameos” from other books, and not only is the Eden/Izzy line still open, but so too now is the Jenn/Danny one.

This next part may be kind of spoilerish, so stop know if you don't want to know about Brockmann's future plans gleaned from this book's author notes (mostly).

According to the AN, Brockmann is working on the next book in the series. I checked the website, and this will indeed be “Izzy's Story” (and more on Danny and Jenn but her note), but the website says it won't be out until February of 2011. That alone is tough, but she also said that after that one she'd be taking a break from the TS series. What??? No!!! Suzanne Brockmann, why??? This bums me out, though she said she wasn't done, just that she was taking time off. And I guess I can understand it, but ouch. This series is the first one I think I ever got THIS into, and I don't really want it to end. Even right now I'm looking at the next book on my shelf, a historical romance in part of another series I really like, but it feels a little strange to shift so dramatically.

Either way, I still have “Into the Night” to tide me over and several other series' that should get me through until the next TS book. Then I'll just play the waiting game.

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Goodreads: Into the Fire

Into the Fire by Suzanne Brockmann


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is getting placed on the disturbing shelf this time around, not because anything changed in the style or the set up, but because the Freedom Network, Brockmann's white supremacist group, creeps me out.

After putting himself into an alcoholic induced fugue state for several months following the murder of his wife by the Freedom Network, Vinh Murphy returns to his best friend Hannah for comfort. But when the leader of the FN is murdered, Vinh is the main suspect and even he doesn't know if he did it or not.

The romance between Vinh and Hannah isn't as "torrid" as many of the other ones, but they've been friends for years, so there's more of a comfort aspect to it, which I liked. Nash and Tess have a small part with a storyline leading them to the next book in the series.

The other main subplot is between Izzy and Eden Gillman, Dan Gillman's sister who is abandoned by her boyfriend and impregnated by a "business associate" of his who drugged her. I hated Dan Gillman in this book, for the record, but I expect that maybe someday Brockmann will give us some insight into why he's such a jerk.

The Decker-Dave-Sophia triangle appears again. I'm rooting for Dave because I like Dave's character as being "less than" the rough and tough and built SEALS. I like that he's a little softer, a little more nerdy, and alot more insecure. Decker annoys me to no end. To be fair though, there are times when I really want Dave to get some nerve and just step up to the plate.

This was another great installment. Three books left (since I still need to read book 5) and I'll have read the entire series to date. Then I'll just have play the waiting game until the next one comes out.





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Goodreads: Into the Storm

Into the Storm by Suzanne Brockmann


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another 5 star book in the Troubleshooters series, though this one varied in several different ways from the previous books (which is all I have to base my comparison on right now since I haven’t yet read the later ones).

The main players are Lindsey Fontaine, an ex LAPD cop working for TS, Inc. and Mark “Jenk” Jenkins who’s still with SEAL Team Sixteen. Mark is mooning over a Tracy Shapiro, a girl he knew from his younger days who is now working as a receptionist for TS, and Lindsay is crushing on Mark. Towards the end of a spontaneous evening together, Mark ends up running to Tracy’s rescue. Lindsay pulls away, trying to leave their relationship at friend status to help her deal with her own hurt and jealousy, not mention that, like all of the characters in this series, she has her own past baggage to deal with. Then the team is called to New Hampshire where the cold weather is to be used as part of a war game exercise between the teams. During the exercise, Tracy, acting the part of the hostage, goes missing, and the TS team, with the help of Jenk and Izzy, set out to find her.

Like always, Brockmann pulls the story into several different subplots. There’s the steamy interaction between Izzy and Tracy. There’s also the relationship between Sophia, Larry Decker, and Dave Malkoff. What makes that one so interesting is that for once, I’m not entirely sure where SB is going with these characters and where the actual romantic relationship is going to fall.

Unlike most of the books, the antagonist is not an international terrorist but a local psycho kidnapper who collects body parts. I found this turn to be extremely creepy, but I like the way it sets the book away from the other books while still trying it in through the use of familiar characters and themes.

This may be one of the snarkier books in the series, which gives it another point of favor. There’s a lot of interaction among the Seals, especially from Izzy Zanella, who tends to push the obnoxious envelope but still cracks me up. Lindsey is a fun character who carries a lot of baggage but hides it behind her own sarcastic and self deprecating sense of humor. Tracy Shapiro is bound to show up in this book (I hope). She develops to a great deal in this book and there still seems to be some unfinished business between her and Izzy.

I thought that this was definitely one of the best books in the series.

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Goodreads: Stalking the Unicorn

Stalking The Unicorn by Mike Resnick


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
My fiancé got a kick out of this book, and even though it meant tearing myself away from the series I’m in the middle of, I decided to give it a try. It was a nice change of pace and a quick read.

On New Year’s Eve, John Justin Mallory, a Manhattan detective, is approached by a distressed elf looking to hire his services. Because his attention was drawn to an amorous tryst, the elf has lost a valuable unicorn entrusted to his watch, and he needs Mallory to help him find it before his guild finds out and kills him for his irresponsibility.

In the “other” Manhattan, where Mallory goes for this case, Mallory meets a fun blend of characters, including a cat girl, a lame magician, an ex-unicorn hunter, a bar full if Irishmen, two men who have been playing the same game of chess for a year, and the demon of the other world, The Grundy, who holds a big stake in finding the same unicorn.

This was a really fun book written in a detective noir style. The characters are funny and Mallory is perfect has the stoic detective who has rare but effective bursts of emotion. As far as fantasy goes, it wasn’t anything heavy, all the fantastical characters are ones found commonly in literature. Dialogue played a key role in the story and I love dialogue, especially when the story can set the tone just through what the characters are saying.

Even though I wasn’t riveted the way I’ve been to some of the books I’ve read recently, I still enjoyed it. Be warned, it does read like a young adult novel but does have some adult themes and language.

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Goodreads: Flashpoint

Flashpoint by Suzanne Brockmann


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
"Flashpoint" kicks off the beginning of what I consider the "next stage" in the Troubleshooters books, the stage in which Paoletti begins his own business with Troubleshooters, Inc. So it was kind of jarring to suddenly have a bunch of new characters to get used to.

The main players here are Tess Bailey and Jimmy Nash. Tess is an intelligent comspesh who can't get into the field, and Jimmy is a former top secret government operative who's life up until this point is one big secret. They come together several months after a one night stand to be sent on a mission to Kazbekistan to retrive a laptop which is thought to contain valuable information on terrorist plans. On the mission with them is Lawrence Decker, an ex Seal who stands alone as Jimmy's closest friend and colleague. Deck has been given a secondary assignment to find a prospect for Troubleshooters, Inc. who was last seen in the area. Diguised as relief workers, the group, along with a few other players (Vinh Murphy to name one) set about finding the all important lap top.

The story adds another element with Sophia, the wife of the prospect who was taken by Padsha Bashir after he had her husband decapitated. During the aftermath of an earthquake, she attempts to kill him and runs from the palace. Unfortunately, she didn't kill him, and now has a bounty on her head. To her rescue comes Decker and the rest of the team, and though they don't trust her fully, they bring her in as part of the team to help them on their mission.

This book was much heavier on the action than on the romance. The interplay between Tess and Jimmy is okay when it happens, but overall, Jimmy's just kind of a jerk. He's actually a difficult character to like. The same can be said for most of these new characters, though I'm not sure if that's because I'm fighting against change or if they're just not developed at their own early stages.

There is some hints of a possible "to be continued" thread/love story between Decker and Sophia, and I hope it gets picked up later, because I wouldn't mind seeing what happens between them. Not my favorite, but not a bad read by any means.

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Goodreads: Over the Edge

Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was by far my favorite of the early Troubleshooters books (though thanks to my library I haven't yet read #5). It was physically painful for me to put this town to do things like make dinner, go to work, and go to sleep.

The main story in this one is between Senior Chief Stan Wolchonok and pilot Teri Howe who find themselves in K-stan for a situation involving a hijacked plan and a young girl who terrorists believe to be a US Senator's daughter. It was this pairing that got me...I loved these characters. Even though most of Brockmann's heroes have the "soft and sensitive" side, I found Stan to be especially endearing in his "I'm not that good looking" mentality. Teri was also endearing in a "deer in the headlights" kind of way (for Glee fans, she sort of reminded me of Emma). I thought they were great characters and I was completely hooked into their story. Besides the romance factor, there was a good dose of humor. All of these books have a touch to them, which makes them enjoyable to read, but I found myself laughing out loud during this one.

Also in this book is the continuing story of Alyssa and Sam, and this one sets the stage for the Gina and Max storyline.


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